Johnny Dankworth -- All Categories (LPs, CDs, Vinyl Record Albums) -- Dusty Groove is Chicago's Online Record Store Vocalion (UK), 1959. New Copy ... Temporarily Out Of Stock Add to Watch List Rare late 50s work from UK bandleader Johnny Dankworth – the jazz musician who'd also do some great soundtrack recordings in the 60s! These upbeat, hard-swinging tracks really preface Dankworth's soundtrack greatness – as they've got a tight, lively approach that's wonderful all the way through – still echoes of the bigger bands of the postwar years, especially the soulfulness of Basie – but also a wider sense of tone and timing, which makes great use of soloists who include Kenny Wheeler and Dickie Hawdon on trumpets, Danny Moss on tenor, Derek Smith on piano, and Dankworth himself on alto sax. The CD features 40 tracks from three broadcasts originally done for French audiences – and titles include "New Forest", "Threesome", "Duet For 16", "Seven League Boots", "Skeleton In The Bathroom", "Prince Iwo", "Two's Company", "Square Face", and "Royal Ascot".

CD 2 Vocalion (UK), 1959. New Copy ... Out Of Stock Add to Watch List Rare BBC material from the great John Dankworth – a British arranger, leader, and alto saxophonist who seemed to work with nonstop energy at the end of the 50s! This set brings together material recorded by Dankworth on three different occasions – not for album release, but only broadcast on the BBC – which makes this well-produced set a commercial debut for all the cuts on the collection! Dankworth solos on alto on a number of tracks, and handles the larger charts with enough space for other soloists too – including Dave Lee on piano, Danny Moss on tenor, Laurie Monk on trombone, and Dickie Hawdon on trumpet and mellophone. Some of the best titles are Dankworth originals – and tracks include "Kool Kate", "I'll Never Be The Same", "Bluesology", "Specs Yellow", "Highgate Hideaway", "Desperate Dan", "Jol & Lol's Blues", and "Melbourne Marathon". CD 3 1960. New Copy ...

Out Of Stock Add to Watch List Three programs' worth of music from Brit bandleader Johnny Dankworth – all pulled from the BBC archives, and presented here with really wonderful sound! Johnny's definitely got a lot of jazz in his approach here, but the charts also reflect some of his talents for larger arrangements too – as he works with a relatively big ensemble, but allows for breakout solos by himself on alto, Danny Moss on tenor, Derek Smith on piano, and Dickie Hawdon on trumpet! There's a few spots that have a French announcer presenting the tracks – possibly for continental audiences – and titles include "I May Be Wrong", "Tracey's Trip", "Love Me Or Leave Me", "The Wizard", "Vice", "Too Cool For The Blues", "Runnin wild", and "Old Blues". CD Solid (Japan), 1949. New Copy ... $15.99 Add to Cart An important moment for jazz on the London scene – a legendary concert put on by the Club 11 – a group of young enthusiasts who helped bring bop to the British shores! The set features live work by two different groups – the leaders of whom would go onto shape British jazz strongly in decades to come!

Ronnie Scott heads up his Boptet on tenor – working with Dennis Rose on tenor, Johnny Rogers on alto, Tommy Pollard on piano, Tony Crombie on drums, and the great Lennie Bush on bass – serving up tunes with energy that's as searing as some of the early Prestige Records material – on titles that include "Wee Dot", "Coquette", "Ow", "Don't Blame Me", and "Stoned". Altoist John Dankworth later headed up larger groups, but here he blows openly and freely in a quartet – with a style that's a lot more bop than his later work – on titles that include "Bremavin", "Lover Man", "Second Eleven", and "Night In Tunisia". CD 5 Fresh Sound (Spain), 1959. Used ... $8.99 Add to Cart Some great lesser-known material from the Duke Ellington group of the late 50s – a set that's especially noteworthy for its variety of compositions that get past the usual overplayed Ellington standards!

The lineup here includes Clark Terry, Ray Nance, Shorty Baker, Cat Anderson, Johnny Hodges, Paul Gonsalves, Jimmy Hamilton, and Harry Carney – all coming together with the tightness and fluidity of some of the best late 50s sides by Duke for Columbia – that magical Ellington mix of grace and energy that was near-perfect at this point in his career! Titles include "Dankworth Castle", "Fat Mouth", "Little John's Tune", "Frou Frou", "Night Stick", "Moonstone", "Still Water", "Jet Strip",a nd "She Was A Tinkling Thing". CD 6 1971. New Copy ... $11.99 Add to Cart A pair of pivotal albums from British singer Cleo Laine – both of which really have her finding her own groove! If We Lived On Top Of A Mountain is a set that's still got a fair bit of jazz in the mix, but which also has Cleo Laine using that wonderfully deep voice of hers to step into some cool, sophisticated territory of her own!

Even the older tunes get this unusual vibe in the hands of arrangers Les Reed and Johnny Dankworth – and Dankworth gets to solo a bit on the record on alto, alongside Tony Coe on tenor, Laurie Holloway on piano, and Derek Watkins on trumpet. Laine's always in the spotlight, though – and this hip late 60s setting really brings on the best in her vocals – on titles that include the sublime title cut "If We Lived On The Side Of A Mountain", plus "Remind Me", "Song Without Words", "Sure As You're Born", and "Who Walks In When I Walk Out". Portrait is one of the groovier sides ever recorded by Cleo Laine – at one level an album that features some of her older approaches to American standards, but at another a record that's showing some key touches of the changes going on in British jazz at the time!

The rhythms are much more pronounced than before – leaping around with some great jazzy changes on the best numbers, in a way that makes for inventive arrangements that really transform the tunes – and which seem to allow Cleo's weirdly floating style of singing to resonate more with the hipper, younger generation of jazz vocalists showing up on the European scene. Backings are by John Dankworth, and the album's got a great original called "Bossa Palma Nova", a wicked take on "Feeling Good", an unusual Mike Gibbs number called "Model Cities Programme", a fuzzy guitar take on James Taylor's "Night Owl", and a nicely trippy version of "Aquarius". But even the standards sound nice too – and they include "That Certain Feeling", "I Could Write A Book", and "The Look Of Love". CD 7 El (UK), 1960s. New Copy ... $8.99 Add to Cart Way more than just the usual collection of famous British TV themes from the 60s – as this set offers up some great rare nuggets, unusual versions, and some obscure tracks that are all pretty darn fresh to our American years!

As you well know if you're a fan of anything pop culture from this generation, British TV was way hipper than most of the American small screen in the 60s – from the stories, to the settings, to the wonderfully cool themes and backing music that supported the show – often a cool hybrid of postwar Soho jazz modes and lots of the best soundtrack/ sound library styles that were evolving in the hands of an elite few on the London scene. Some of the best and grooviest of that generation are presented here – in an overstuffed collection that includes "Gurney Slade" by Max Harris, "Danger Man" by Red Price Combo, "The Avenger" by Johnny Dankworth, "Tuesday Rendezvous" by Bert Weedon, "Face To Face" by Frank Chacksfield, "Comedy Playhouse" by Ron Grainer, "What The Papers Say" by London Philharmonic, "Monty Python's Flying Circus" by Eastman Wind Ensemble, "The Saint" by Les Reed, "Fireball" by Don Spencer, "Z Cars" by Johnny Keating, and a number of tracks from The Prisoner too!

CD 8 Croydon Municipal (UK), Late 50s/ Early 60s. New Copy ... $13.99 Add to Cart Some of the coolest, most swinging film themes you'll ever hope to hear – not the usual band of over-hashed classics from the 50s and 60s – but instead a really fresh, obscure collection – and one that features lots of rare work from the British scene too! Vocals and instrumentals share equal time in the spotlight – which means that one minute you'll hear a lush jazz vocal or catchy pop chorus, and the next you'll get a groovy soundtrack theme in styles that run from rocking to jazzy! The folks at Croydon Municipal are clearly lovers of unusual cinema – as well as records – and have done a great job here picking out tunes that have a very special, very cool quality – even if you already have a lot of soundtracks in your collection.

Titles include "Riverside Stomp" by Johnny Dankworth, "She'll Have To Go" by Dennis Lotis, "The Rebel" by Frank Cordell, "The Little Hut" by Tommy Watt, "No My Darling Daughter" by Juliet Mills & Michael Redgrave, "Never Let Go" by John Barry, "The Stranger" by The Hoplites, "Mix Me A Person" by Adam Faith, "The Big Ship Sails On The Alley-O" by Corona Kids, and "Keep Your Eyes On The Hands" by Jane Russell. CD 9 1970s. New Copy ... Temporarily Out Of Stock Add to Watch List A very cool collection from the KPM Sound Library – and a set that shows that the label didn't just put out crime and cop-styled funk! Instead, these tracks represent a nicely sophisticated array of sounds – tracks that offer up a bit of jazz, a touch of electronics, and some of the deeper themes you'd expect from some of the bigger names in 70s soundtrack composition – all mixed with groovy elements that keeps the whole thing as lively as the other sound library collections from Vocalion!

There's a nicely light vibe to some cuts – billed here with themes that include "miniature moods", "industry/ awards", "metropolis", and "dramatic backgrounds" – and the package features a whopping 28 tracks in all – including "Rat Race" by Nick Ingman, "World Series" by Keith Mansfield, "Guide Path" by Neil Richardson, "Fight For Survival" by Johnny Pearson, "Love Poem" by Keith Mansfield, "Computology" by John Cameron, "Flying Start" by David Lindup, "Sublimation" by Stan Tracey, "Sunny Start" by James Clarke, "Automation" by Nick Ingman, "Mood Macabre" by Stan Tracey, and "Tension" by John Dankworth.

CD John Dankworth, a Leader of British Jazz Scene, Dies at 82 - The New York Times The New York Times Music |John Dankworth, a Leader of British Jazz Scene, Dies at 82 Search John Dankworth, a Leader of British Jazz Scene, Dies at 82 By PETER KEEPNEWS Continue reading the main story John Dankworth, one of the leading lights of the British jazz scene for more than a half-century, died Feb. 6 in London. He was 82. His death was announced that night by his wife, the singer Cleo Laine, at a concert at the Stables, the theater in the town of Milton Keynes that the two of them had run for 40 years. Mr. Dankworth, who was in poor health in recent months, had been scheduled to appear at the concert. American audiences knew Mr. Dankworth best as Ms. Laine’s longtime musical director.

But in Britain he was a star in his own right, celebrated for his mastery of the alto saxophone, for his gifts as an arranger and bandleader, and for the scores he wrote for “Darling,” “Morgan!” and other films that helped define the swinging London of the 1960s. Photo Sir John Dankworth plays his saxophone at Buckingham Palace, after receiving a knighthood from the Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II in 2006. Credit Associated Press John Philip William Dankworth was born in Woodford, a London suburb, on Sept. 20, 1927. He studied at the Royal Academy of Music in London and began his career as a clarinetist, but exposure to Charlie Parker recordings inspired him to switch to alto saxophone. He formed his first band, the Johnny Dankworth Seven, in 1949. After disbanding that group in 1953 he formed a big band, which became a showcase for his compositions and arrangements and achieved international success. Reviewing the band’s performance at the 1959 Newport Jazz Festival, John S.

Wilson of The New York Times praised its “flowing, unforced rhythmic drive” and the “crispness and precision” of its ensemble work. Advertisement Continue reading the main story Not long after that performance, Mr. Dankworth began to focus more on composing than performing. In addition to several film and television scores, he wrote works for symphony orchestra and string quartet as well as two stage musicals in which Ms. Laine, whom he married in 1958, appeared. He became Ms. Laine’s music director in 1971. Mr. Dankworth and Ms. Laine founded the Wavendon Allmusic Plan, a music education charity, in 1969. Mr. Dankworth was knighted in 2006, nine years after Ms. Laine was made a dame. In addition to Ms. Laine, his survivors include their two children, both musicians: a son, Alec, a bassist, and a daughter, Jacqui, a singer.

Sir John Dankworth - Telegraph TV & Radio Obituaries Sir John Dankworth Sir John Dankworth, who died on February 6 aged 82, was a pioneer of modern jazz in Britain, a leading composer of film music, a tireless champion of musical education, regardless of genre, and a superb instrumentalist in his own right. Sir John Dankworth Photo: PA 11:33AM GMT 07 Feb 2010 Comments Dankworth's care over the shaping and presentation of his music led occasionally to complaints that it was clever, lightweight stuff, lacking the rough passion which many regarded as the mark of authentic jazz, a view summed up by the critic Kitty Grime in the much-quoted phrase "couth, kempt and shevelled". On the other hand, his admirers included such notable figures as Duke Ellington and Dizzy Gillespie. John Philip William Dankworth was born in Walthamstow on September 20 1927. Smitten by jazz at an early age, he acquired a second-hand clarinet and was playing in semi-professional dance bands while still at school.

In 1944 Dankworth passed the audition to study at the Royal Academy of Music. His extra-curricular interests had to be kept a closely guarded secret, in particular the fact that he now owned a saxophone, an instrument which was rarely even mentioned within the walls of the Academy. Even so, during his final year he contrived to work regularly as a member of Freddie Mirfield's Garbage Men, a novelty band which toured the lower-echelon music halls. Following National Service in the RASC, much of it spent playing with an army dance band in Cirencester, Dankworth, along with Ronnie Scott and other ambitious young jazz players, joined the Queen Mary as a musician and sailed for New York on the liner's first post-war civilian voyage. The attraction of the job was the ship's fortnightly turn-round period in New York, during which they were able to hear some of the greatest jazz artists at first hand. For the rest of their lives, both Scott and Dankworth were able to recall these brief visits in vivid detail, in particular the revolutionary bebop of Charlie Parker. Back in London, Dankworth took casual jobs in dance bands and played jazz whenever the opportunity arose.

Dankworth, Scott and other young players would hire a rehearsal room to work on their bebop skills. Eventually, in 1948, they formed themselves into two bands, hired a studio in central London, called themselves Club Eleven (10 musicians and a manager) and began charging admission. Extremely avant garde for its time, Club Eleven attracted enough patrons to sustain it as a venue for several years. Related Articles Sir John Dankworth: 'this one is for Johnny, gone but not forgotten' 08 Feb 2010 In 1950 Dankworth formed his first band, the Johnny Dankworth Seven, containing some of Britain's leading young soloists. The style was neatly arranged bebop, inspired by Miles Davis's band of the time. Although this enterprise almost collapsed in its early days, a modest growth in the audience for modern jazz allowed it to gain a foothold. Within a year, the Seven, and Dankworth himself, figured among the winners in the annual polls conducted by the music press. Dankworth did his bit for the export drive by playing and endorsing the Grafton Acrylic alto saxophone, an all-British product with an instantly recognisable plastic body.

He was playing it in 1951 when the Seven appeared in one of the two inaugural jazz concerts at the Royal Festival Hall. In the same year the Seven recruited a young and totally inexperienced singer, Cleo Laine. Dankworth broke up the Seven in 1953 and launched his first big band, consisting of eight brass, five saxophones, rhythm section and three vocalists. It was the first serious and deliberate challenge to Ted Heath, Britain's reigning bandleader, whose immaculately polished, bravura style had never been entirely satisfying to dedicated jazz listeners. Although much of its time was spent in playing for ballroom dancing, Dankworth's band was essentially a jazz orchestra, with a notable contingent of fine jazz soloists. But Dankworth was not happy with the conventional big band format. In 1956 he disbanded and redesigned the orchestra, with a mixed ensemble of soloists in place of the saxophone section. For this imaginative combination Dankworth and his chief arranger, Dave Lindup, created a uniquely light but firm jazz sound.

In its first year the new band had a hit single with Experiments With Mice, the nursery rhyme Three Blind Mice arranged in the styles of various well-known bands. In 1961 Dankworth scored another hit with African Waltz. In the mid-1950s the orchestra had a long-running radio series in which Dankworth made a point of introducing guests from other musical genres. These were mainly classical virtuosi, such as the clarinettist Jack Brymer and violinist Kenneth Essex, but the one which he recalled with the greatest affection was Gerard Hoffnung, the comedian and cartoonist, who delivered a remarkable performance of There’s A Small Hotel on the tuba. In 1960 Dankworth gave up full-time bandleading in order to concentrate on composition. He had already made an impressive debut with the score to Karel Reisz's documentary film We Are The Lambeth Boys (1959). Now he composed and conducted the music for Saturday Night And Sunday Morning (Reisz, 1960) and The Criminal (Joseph Losey, 1960).

So successful were these, and so distinctive the music, that the Dankworth sound became inseparably linked with the new wave of British cinema in the 1960s. Among the best known are The Servant (Losey, 1963), Darling (John Schlesinger, 1965), Modesty Blaise (Losey 1966) and Morgan, A Suitable Case For Treatment (Reisz, 1966). To these were added television themes such as The Avengers (1961) and Tomorrow's World (1966), as well as an endless stream of advertising commercials. Amidst all this activity, Dankworth contrived to assemble ad hoc bands, to write music for them and to record it. What The Dickens (1963), Zodiac Variations (1964), The $1,000,000 Collection (1969) and Lifeline (1974) were among the most successful.

He also wrote, in collaboration with Benny Green, a musical version of Lysistrata, performed at the 1964 Bath Featival, a piano concerto, a string quartet and several choral works. John Dankworth and Cleo Laine were married in 1958 and their careers were intertwined thereafter. From the mid-1970s, in particular, much of his time was taken up by acting as his wife's musical director. A Cleo Laine song is, generally speaking, a John Dankworth arrangement and some of his most beautiful and delicate writing is to found in the accompaniments he devised for her: the voice-and-clarinet duet version of Thieving Boy, the settings of Shakespeare songs, especially the mind-boggling Compleat Works, and the innocent I'm On A See-Saw. They were also equal partners in the Wavendon Allmusic Plan, an educational and cultural programme launched in 1969 and based at their home at Wavendon, near Milton Keynes, dedicated to bringing together musicians of all styles and cultures. Also on the premises is The Stables, a concert hall presenting international artists.

In later years, Dankworth joined with his son, Alec, in forming the 12-piece Dankworth Generation Band, made up of their favourite musicians, regardless of age. To perform with it, Dankworth revived the C-melody saxophone, an obsolete and almost forgotten instrument, from which he coaxed a delicate and charmingly gawky tone. John Dankworth continued performing almost until the end of his life, although his mobility became increasingly restricted. Among the activities which he inaugurated at Wavendon in recent years were informal chats about music by him and an invited guest or two. These inevitably produced fascinating, often indiscreet, reminiscences of his long professional career. John Dankworth was appointed CBE in 1974 and received a knighthood in the 2006 New Year Honours. He is survived by Dame Cleo Laine and their two children, the double-bassist Alec Dankworth and the singer and actress Jacqui Dankworth.

Johnny Dankworth & His Orchestra - Song Introduction :: Music :: Audio :: Johnny Dankworth & His Orchestra :: Paste Johnny Dankworth & His Orchestra - Song Introduction Avery Fisher Hall (New York, NY), 07/03/1975 Share Tweet Submit Pin Embed A national treasure in his native England, the late Sir John Phillip William Dankworth made his Newport Jazz Festival debut back in 1959 on a night that also featured the Thelonious Monk Quartet, the Modern Jazz Quartet, the Dizzy Gillespie Quintet and the Oscar Peterson Trio. He returned 16 years later, after impresario George Wein had moved his annual summer clambake from Newport, Rhode Island to the Big Apple. In this Avery Fisher Hall concert, the acclaimed saxophonist-composer-bandleader rolled out his first-ever American band, which included such 'ringers' as tenor sax aces Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis and Frank Wess, trumpeter Red Rodney, trombonist Dick Griffin and baritone saxophonist Cecil Payne.

They open their July 3rd set with "Modesty Blaise," theme song from the 1966 movie that Dankworth wrote the soundtrack for (he had previously composed the theme song a few years earlier from the hit television show, The Avengers). The tight, contrapuntal horn lines intertwine nicely on the theme against the funky drumming of Kenny Clare before the solo section begins. Dankworth solos first on alto sax, exhibiting pungent tones and potent, swaggering lines. He is followed by Paul Hart, who solos fluently over the changes on Fender Rhodes. Next up in the program is "East St. Louis Boogaloo," a bluesy Ellington-meets-Mingus influenced number that showcases Dankworth's command of the idiom. Trombonist Dick Griffin, a former member of Rahsaan Roland Kirk's band, turns in an outstanding solo here and is followed by a humorous, highly animated plunger solo from trumpeter Jimmy Nottingham. Pianist Paul Hart establishes the lush mood on "Kite Flight," a quartet number that showcases Dankworth's more lyrical side on alto sax.

Hart switches to Fender Rhodes after the piano intro and later delivers a harmonically adventurous solo against the intricate rhythmic hookup of electric bassist Brian Toff and drummer Clare (who appeared in Dankworth's band for their gala 1959 debut at the Newport Jazz Festival). The full band returns for a rousing Basie-esque shuffle blues number that highlights "Lockjaw" Davis on a typically robust tenor solo. "Round Table Round" is a dynamic and challenging 7/4 vehicle that features extended solos from Frank Wess on flute, Red Rodney on trumpet and Clare on drums. Pianist Hart, a talented doubler, is featured on violin on the sinewy funk number "Long John," on which he trades nimble lines with Dankworth's alto sax before turning in a virtuosic solo. Bassist Torff also stretches out on an accomplished electric bass solo here. The full band returns for a gorgeous reading of Duke Ellington's "Sophisticated Lady," featuring some unusual voicings in the horns on the intro before Dankworth tackles the familiar melody with his soaring, singing alto sax.

They close out the set in dynamic fashion with "Paganini in Perpetuo," a jazzy quartet interpretation of Niccolo Paganini's famous "Caprice No. 24," which showcases pianist Hart, bassist Torff, drummer Clare and the leader on clarinet, all stretching out considerably on that familiar classical theme. Dankworth would continue to play through the '70s with a scaled-down 10-piece band, often in support of his wife, vocalist Cleo Laine. From 1984 to 1986, he was professor of music at Gresham College, London, giving free public lectures while also running the Allmusic Plan, an arts center they established in a converted stable on the grounds of their home in Wavendon, Buckinghamshire. It is there that they established the annual Wavendon Garden Season, a program of summer events staged under a canopy in the Dankworths' garden. In 1985, Dankworth also founded the London Symphony Orchestra's Summer Pops, with which he continued to be associated as Artistic Director until 1990.

He set up his own record label, Qnotes, in 2003, and subsequently became involved in writing large, extended works, including a jazz violin concerto for soloist Christian and the Nottingham Youth Orchestra, which had its world premiere on March 1, 2008. Among his many awards for his achievements in jazz and services to England, his most coveted was Knighthood from Her Majesty the Queen in 2006. Sir John Dankworth died on February 6, 2010 at age 82. Born in Woodford, Esssex on September 20, 1927, Dankworth had violin and piano lessons before settling eventually on the clarinet at the age of 16 after hearing a recording of the Benny Goodman Quartet. Inspired by Johnny Hodges, he switched to alto saxophone while studying at London's Royal Academy of Music from 1944-1946. In 1949, Dankworth attended the Paris Jazz Festival and played with jazz legend Charlie Parker. Shortly after, he toured Sweden briefly with another jazz legend, soprano saxophonist Sidney Bechet.

In 1950, he formed his first small group, The Dankworth Seven, then in 1953 formed his first big band. Their appearance at the 1959 Newport Jazz Festival was hailed by a New York Times critic for its "swinging drive, harmonic color and the support in depth for soloists that is possible when a disciplined, imaginatively directed band has worked together for a long time." In 1958, Dankworth married Cleo Laine, the featured singer in his band. They continued to perform together for the next 50 years. -Written by Bill Milkowski Michigan Today » Jazz man Michigan Today . John Dankworth’s jazz scores helped define the British cinema’s new wave. Two prominent, interconnected figures in motion picture history—both Brits—died recently, within weeks of one another: Alan Sillitoe and Sir John Dankworth. Film buffs will remember Sillitoe as the Midlands novelist whose seminal books “Saturday Night and Sunday Morning” and “The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner” became motion pictures that helped popularize what would be known as the “kitchen sink” realist/”Angry Young Men” movements in British cinema, theater and literature.

Sillitoe died on April 25 and Sir John Dankworth on February 6. You ask—”Sir John who?” Dankworth, a bandleader, composer and music educator, was the central figure in making jazz an aesthetic component of several films which together signaled a revolutionary New Wave in British cinema in the 1960s. Jazz had appeared in motion pictures almost from the arrival of “talkies,” but most commonly it was diegetic music—that is, music which originated from an on-screen source: a band performing in a club, or jazz emanating from a phonograph player or a radio set that was visible on screen. In a memorable moment for on-screen jazz performance Duke Ellington came to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula in 1959 for a short gig in a bar scene for the courtroom film “Anatomy of a Murder.” With an increase in the number of gritty urban narratives in the 1950s, jazz began to work its way into the music score, adding a vibrant sense of modernity to the soundtrack. Leonard Bernstein’s jazz-oriented compositions for “The Man with the Golden Arm” (1955) paved the way.

Johnny Dankworth’s historic place in that movement came about at almost the very same moment in Britain, after 25 years of building jazz into a musical presence in the country. His story is a fascinating one.Born in 1927 in Walthamstow, England, Johnny Dankworth—as he would be known professionally—took an interest in jazz as a youngster and by his mid-teens was playing clarinet in local dance bands. He would later give up the clarinet for the alto saxophone, an instrument he made his own. His musical talents won him entry in 1944 into the Royal Academy of Music, though that school didn’t look upon jazz with any special fondness. Following service in the RASC, playing in an Army dance band, Dankworth and his associate Ronnie Scott landed jobs as musicians on trans-Atlantic crossings of the Queen Mary. The ship’s in-port stays in New York provided an opportunity for the two men to check out the city’s bebop clubs. They became especially enamored of Charlie Parker and, back home, began to develop a bebop style of their own.

The Johnny Dankworth Seven—his first band, assembled in 1950—helped build bebop’s popularity in England. Dankworth married singer Cleo Laine, and the couple soon became one of the most popular and beloved musical partnerships in British music. In 1951, the band took on an unknown and untried singer named Clem Campbell. Supposedly drawing from a list of names devised by the band and tossed into a hat, Clem Campbell was re-dubbed “Cleo Laine.” She would become one of jazz’s greatest singers. Dankworth and Laine were married in 1958, creating one of the all-time great jazz partnerships. In 1959 Laine, Dankworth and the band became the first British group to perform at the Newport Jazz Festival. Never quite comfortable with his position as a bandleader, Dankworth increasingly shifted toward his first love: composition.Meanwhile, driven in part by writers who shared the outlook of Alan Sillitoe, British cinema was beginning a shift toward social realism.

The movement had its beginnings in six “Free Cinema” programs— presented by the National Film Theatre between 1956 and 1959—made up primarily of short documentaries about the everyday lives of Britain’s working class. The “Free Cinema” aesthetic soon spilled over into fiction, theater and film. One of the most popular and influential of the short class-conscious documentaries was “We Are the Lambeth Boys” (1959), Karel Reisz’ study of urban boys in a London youth club. Reisz thought that traditional music didn’t fit the documentary’s straight-forward treatment of British youth culture, so he asked Johnny Dankworth to compose a jazz score for the soundtrack. Dankworth watched the film, which he said he found sad but sympathetic, and then improvised a hip, modern jazz accompaniment that was both vibrant and plaintive. It was the onset of a musical sound that would become inextricably associated with Britain’s cinematic New Wave.The following year Reisz asked Dankworth to score the music for the film adaptation of Sillitoe’s “Saturday Night and Sunday Morning” (1960).

Reisz’s forthright treatment of a young factory worker’s (Albert Finney) drab daily life and his evening drinking and womanizing gained from Dankworth’s moody jazz score. Significantly, the music proved that jazz could supply emotionally varied accompaniment to screen drama.Dankworth described jazz’s evocative power in his 1988 autobiography “Jazz in Revolution”: “Jazz can be spiritual, cerebral, motivating or moving. It can evoke tension, relaxation, laughter or tears.”With “Saturday Night and Sunday Morning” Dankworth’s new career in film scoring was up and running. That same year, 1960, he created the music for “The Criminal” and then in 1963 for “The Servant,” both directed by the blacklisted American expatriate Joseph Losey.

Cleo Laine sang “Thieving Boy” in “The Criminal,” and “All Gone” in “The Servant.” Harold Pinter, the future Nobel laureate, wrote the screenplay for “The Servant” and the lyrics for “All Gone.” Pinter’s screenplay was a highly nuanced psychological drama about the manipulation of an upper class gentleman (James Fox) by his male housekeeper (Dirk Bogarde). The tensions between the two characters were abetted by variations within the plaintive songs and the jazz scoring. In his biography of Dankworth and Laine called “Cleo and John,” Graham Collier quoted Dankworth as saying that for the song “All Gone” the idea “was that the same song should change imperceptibly to spell out the degeneration of the situation.

The first time the song was played it was quite straight forward, then it crept into the minor key, then it came with interjections from tenor sax, and in the last case it was done in almost an atonal way with Cleo singing right through what was in those days a cacophonous background.”For the 1965 film “Darling,” which critics would say pretty much defined 1960s swinging London, director John Schlesinger hired Dankworth to create the multi-varied musical score. In my estimation “Darling,” with Julie Christie in the title role, remains one of the greatest of modern British films. Altogether Dankworth scored more than 20 films, including the other memorable Joseph Losey-Harold Pinter collaboration “Accident” (1967). Dankworth and Laine in later years turned to musical education, building an auditorium called The Stables on the grounds of their home where performers from every musical genre were invited to showcase their talents.

In 1997 Cleo Laine was named a Dame and in 2006 Dankworth was knighted by Queen Elizabeth.Next month I’ll focus on Alan Sillitoe, including an account of the fortuitous way he became involved with University of Michigan students in the London Summer Study Abroad program. In the meantime, I’d like to hear what you consider to be memorable jazz scores from movies. One of mine is Arthur Penn’s “Mickey One” (1965), score by Eddie Sauter with Stan Getz solos. How about you? Share your favorites in the comments section. Frank Beaver FRANK BEAVER is a film historian and critic, and Arthur F. Thurnau Professor Emeritus of Screen Arts and Cultures at the University of Michigan.

Johnny Dankworth & His Orchestra - Unknown :: Music :: Audio :: Johnny Dankworth & His Orchestra :: Paste Johnny Dankworth & His Orchestra - Unknown Avery Fisher Hall (New York, NY), 07/03/1975 Share Tweet Submit Pin Embed A national treasure in his native England, the late Sir John Phillip William Dankworth made his Newport Jazz Festival debut back in 1959 on a night that also featured the Thelonious Monk Quartet, the Modern Jazz Quartet, the Dizzy Gillespie Quintet and the Oscar Peterson Trio. He returned 16 years later, after impresario George Wein had moved his annual summer clambake from Newport, Rhode Island to the Big Apple. In this Avery Fisher Hall concert, the acclaimed saxophonist-composer-bandleader rolled out his first-ever American band, which included such 'ringers' as tenor sax aces Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis and Frank Wess, trumpeter Red Rodney, trombonist Dick Griffin and baritone saxophonist Cecil Payne.

They open their July 3rd set with "Modesty Blaise," theme song from the 1966 movie that Dankworth wrote the soundtrack for (he had previously composed the theme song a few years earlier from the hit television show, The Avengers). The tight, contrapuntal horn lines intertwine nicely on the theme against the funky drumming of Kenny Clare before the solo section begins. Dankworth solos first on alto sax, exhibiting pungent tones and potent, swaggering lines. He is followed by Paul Hart, who solos fluently over the changes on Fender Rhodes. Next up in the program is "East St. Louis Boogaloo," a bluesy Ellington-meets-Mingus influenced number that showcases Dankworth's command of the idiom. Trombonist Dick Griffin, a former member of Rahsaan Roland Kirk's band, turns in an outstanding solo here and is followed by a humorous, highly animated plunger solo from trumpeter Jimmy Nottingham. Pianist Paul Hart establishes the lush mood on "Kite Flight," a quartet number that showcases Dankworth's more lyrical side on alto sax.

Hart switches to Fender Rhodes after the piano intro and later delivers a harmonically adventurous solo against the intricate rhythmic hookup of electric bassist Brian Toff and drummer Clare (who appeared in Dankworth's band for their gala 1959 debut at the Newport Jazz Festival). The full band returns for a rousing Basie-esque shuffle blues number that highlights "Lockjaw" Davis on a typically robust tenor solo. "Round Table Round" is a dynamic and challenging 7/4 vehicle that features extended solos from Frank Wess on flute, Red Rodney on trumpet and Clare on drums. Pianist Hart, a talented doubler, is featured on violin on the sinewy funk number "Long John," on which he trades nimble lines with Dankworth's alto sax before turning in a virtuosic solo. Bassist Torff also stretches out on an accomplished electric bass solo here. The full band returns for a gorgeous reading of Duke Ellington's "Sophisticated Lady," featuring some unusual voicings in the horns on the intro before Dankworth tackles the familiar melody with his soaring, singing alto sax.

They close out the set in dynamic fashion with "Paganini in Perpetuo," a jazzy quartet interpretation of Niccolo Paganini's famous "Caprice No. 24," which showcases pianist Hart, bassist Torff, drummer Clare and the leader on clarinet, all stretching out considerably on that familiar classical theme. Dankworth would continue to play through the '70s with a scaled-down 10-piece band, often in support of his wife, vocalist Cleo Laine. From 1984 to 1986, he was professor of music at Gresham College, London, giving free public lectures while also running the Allmusic Plan, an arts center they established in a converted stable on the grounds of their home in Wavendon, Buckinghamshire. It is there that they established the annual Wavendon Garden Season, a program of summer events staged under a canopy in the Dankworths' garden. In 1985, Dankworth also founded the London Symphony Orchestra's Summer Pops, with which he continued to be associated as Artistic Director until 1990.

He set up his own record label, Qnotes, in 2003, and subsequently became involved in writing large, extended works, including a jazz violin concerto for soloist Christian and the Nottingham Youth Orchestra, which had its world premiere on March 1, 2008. Among his many awards for his achievements in jazz and services to England, his most coveted was Knighthood from Her Majesty the Queen in 2006. Sir John Dankworth died on February 6, 2010 at age 82. Born in Woodford, Esssex on September 20, 1927, Dankworth had violin and piano lessons before settling eventually on the clarinet at the age of 16 after hearing a recording of the Benny Goodman Quartet. Inspired by Johnny Hodges, he switched to alto saxophone while studying at London's Royal Academy of Music from 1944-1946. In 1949, Dankworth attended the Paris Jazz Festival and played with jazz legend Charlie Parker. Shortly after, he toured Sweden briefly with another jazz legend, soprano saxophonist Sidney Bechet.

In 1950, he formed his first small group, The Dankworth Seven, then in 1953 formed his first big band. Their appearance at the 1959 Newport Jazz Festival was hailed by a New York Times critic for its "swinging drive, harmonic color and the support in depth for soloists that is possible when a disciplined, imaginatively directed band has worked together for a long time." In 1958, Dankworth married Cleo Laine, the featured singer in his band. They continued to perform together for the next 50 years.

-Written by Bill Milkowski Johnny Dankworth & His Orchestra Avery Fisher Hall New York, NY Jul 3, 1975 12 Paganini in Perpetuo 13:08 More Johnny Dankworth & His Orchestra Playlists Liner Notes John Dankworth - alto sax, clarinet; Dick Griffin - trombone; Sonny Russo - trombone; Jimmy Nottingham - trumpet; Red Rodney - trumpet; Joe Gardner - trumpet; Dandy Stiles - trumpet; Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis - tenor sax; Frank Wess - tenor sax, flute; Cecil Payne - baritone sax; Paul Hart - piano, Fender Rhode electric piano; Brian Torff - bass; Kenny Clare - drums A national treasure in his native England, the late Sir John Phillip William Dankworth made his Newport Jazz Festival debut back in 1959 on a night that also featured the Thelonious Monk Quartet, the Modern Jazz Quartet, the Dizzy Gillespie Quintet and the Oscar Peterson Trio. He returned 16 years later, after impresario George Wein had moved his annual summer clambake from Newport, Rhode Island to the Big Apple.

In this Avery Fisher Hall concert, the acclaimed saxophonist-composer-bandleader rolled out his first-ever American band, which included such 'ringers' as tenor sax aces Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis and Frank Wess, trumpeter Red Rodney, trombonist Dick Griffin and baritone saxophonist Cecil Payne. They open their July 3rd set with "Modesty Blaise," theme song from the 1966 movie that Dankworth wrote the soundtrack for (he had previously composed the theme song a few years earlier from the hit television show, The Avengers). The tight, contrapuntal horn lines intertwine nicely on the theme against the funky drumming of Kenny Clare before the solo section begins. Dankworth solos first on alto sax, exhibiting pungent tones and potent, swaggering lines. He is followed by Paul Hart, who solos fluently over the changes on Fender Rhodes. Next up in the program is "East St. Louis Boogaloo," a bluesy Ellington-meets-Mingus influenced number that showcases Dankworth's command of the idiom.

Trombonist Dick Griffin, a former member of Rahsaan Roland Kirk's band, turns in an outstanding solo here and is followed by a humorous, highly animated plunger solo from trumpeter Jimmy Nottingham. Pianist Paul Hart establishes the lush mood on "Kite Flight," a quartet number that showcases Dankworth's more lyrical side on alto sax. Hart switches to Fender Rhodes after the piano intro and later delivers a harmonically adventurous solo against the intricate rhythmic hookup of electric bassist Brian Toff and drummer Clare (who appeared in Dankworth's band for their gala 1959 debut at the Newport Jazz Festival). The full band returns for a rousing Basie-esque shuffle blues number that highlights "Lockjaw" Davis on a typically robust tenor solo. "Round Table Round" is a dynamic and challenging 7/4 vehicle that features extended solos from Frank Wess on flute, Red Rodney on trumpet and Clare on drums. Pianist Hart, a talented doubler, is featured on violin on the sinewy funk number "Long John," on which he trades nimble lines with Dankworth's alto sax before turning in a virtuosic solo.

Bassist Torff also stretches out on an accomplished electric bass solo here. The full band returns for a gorgeous reading of Duke Ellington's "Sophisticated Lady," featuring some unusual voicings in the horns on the intro before Dankworth tackles the familiar melody with his soaring, singing alto sax. They close out the set in dynamic fashion with "Paganini in Perpetuo," a jazzy quartet interpretation of Niccolo Paganini's famous "Caprice No. 24," which showcases pianist Hart, bassist Torff, drummer Clare and the leader on clarinet, all stretching out considerably on that familiar classical theme. Dankworth would continue to play through the '70s with a scaled-down 10-piece band, often in support of his wife, vocalist Cleo Laine. From 1984 to 1986, he was professor of music at Gresham College, London, giving free public lectures while also running the Allmusic Plan, an arts center they established in a converted stable on the grounds of their home in Wavendon, Buckinghamshire.

It is there that they established the annual Wavendon Garden Season, a program of summer events staged under a canopy in the Dankworths' garden. In 1985, Dankworth also founded the London Symphony Orchestra's Summer Pops, with which he continued to be associated as Artistic Director until 1990. He set up his own record label, Qnotes, in 2003, and subsequently became involved in writing large, extended works, including a jazz violin concerto for soloist Christian and the Nottingham Youth Orchestra, which had its world premiere on March 1, 2008. Among his many awards for his achievements in jazz and services to England, his most coveted was Knighthood from Her Majesty the Queen in 2006. Sir John Dankworth died on February 6, 2010 at age 82. Born in Woodford, Esssex on September 20, 1927, Dankworth had violin and piano lessons before settling eventually on the clarinet at the age of 16 after hearing a recording of the Benny Goodman Quartet.

Inspired by Johnny Hodges, he switched to alto saxophone while studying at London's Royal Academy of Music from 1944-1946. In 1949, Dankworth attended the Paris Jazz Festival and played with jazz legend Charlie Parker. Shortly after, he toured Sweden briefly with another jazz legend, soprano saxophonist Sidney Bechet. In 1950, he formed his first small group, The Dankworth Seven, then in 1953 formed his first big band. Their appearance at the 1959 Newport Jazz Festival was hailed by a New York Times critic for its "swinging drive, harmonic color and the support in depth for soloists that is possible when a disciplined, imaginatively directed band has worked together for a long time." In 1958, Dankworth married Cleo Laine, the featured singer in his band. They continued to perform together for the next 50 years. -Written by Bill Milkowski John Dankworth - Full Circle & Lifeline by Johnny Dankworth, Kenny Wheeler, Henry Lowther, Mike Gibbs: Amazon.co.uk: Music Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images ?

Product Description The 1970s was when jazz and rock met head-on, thereby creating the jazz-rock genre, the most significant and certainly the most controversial development in jazz since the free-jazz movement of the previous decade. Miles Davis's seminal 'Bitches Brew' album, recorded in 1969, is regarded as jazz-rock's first major statement, but of equal importance was a different strand of rock-influenced jazz being developed in Britain at the same time. Among its leading exponents were such gifted young musicians as Mike Gibbs, Ian Carr, Mike Westbrook and, from the generation before theirs, bandleader, composer and alto saxophonist John Dankworth (1927-2010). The albums compiled here are two of Dankworth's most significant forays into the jazz-rock genre, and show that he was responsive to the latest developments in jazz. 1972's 'Full Circle' and 1973's 'Lifeline' both feature an exciting blend of rock's energy and electric instrumentation with jazz's intricate harmonies and melodic contours.

Dankworth leads a powerhouse band consisting of such fine players as Tony Hymas/Alan Branscombe/John Taylor (keyboards), Daryl Runswick (bass guitar) and Harold Fisher/John Spooner (drums), while in the brass and reeds sections are luminaries including Mike Gibbs, Kenny Wheeler, Stan Sulzmann, Don Rendell and Dankworth himself. Remastered from the original stereo analogue tapes. Track listing: 'Full Circle' (1972) Eleven Plus (Vickers), Academy One (Dankworth), The Italian Girl (Lindup), Grow Your Own (Jarrett), Earthman (Dankworth), Schmaltz Waltz (Gibson), Triple Portrait (Gibbs), You Are Too Beautiful (Rodgers; Hart), A Family Joy (Gibbs) / 'Lifeline' (1973) Fighting the Flab (Gibson), Darlington (Runswick), Tomorrow's World (Dankworth), W R V R (Dankworth), Lifeline (Dankworth): i. Orinoco, ii. Studio Five, iii. Kite Flight, iv. Defrantisity, v. Brass Roots Customer Reviews

Question: With which instrument was bandleader Johnny Dankworth associated?
Answer: (Alto) Saxophone